You Can Run But...

Blake closed her eyes tightly, her entire body tensed as fear grew in the pit of her stomach. She was so ready for this to turn bad, in one way or another, that when the growling lessened and she heard whining coming from one of the wolves', Blake was too terrified to open her eyes. She was sure that she'd open her eyes and she would see Killenger standing above an injured James so much so that when she heard his voice, Blake jolted in place. Her eyes flew open and she watched with baited breathe as James started for the door.

She stood in place for a moment, her eyes trained on James as he moved. It was obvious he was hurt. Blood was dripping from various cuts on his body, bruises littered his skin, and he didn't move as well as he normally did. Instead, James' movements were stiff and calculated. Not as graceful as they usually were. Blake didn't launch into movement until James was out of sight, suddenly realizing that she needed to be by his side. She didn't care if it was taboo or that she shouldn't but... James had fought Killenger because of what he had tried to do to her. Of course there was the assumption it was because Blake belonged to James but did that really matter in the moment?

It wasn't until the elevator doors had shut that Blake turned toward James, a small frown on her features. "S-Sir.. I..." she trailed off, having no clue what she was supposed to say to him. Did she thank him? Did she apologize for what she had done? Hell, Blake didn't have a single clue. Her stomach churned as she took a baby step forward, her breathe catching as she reached up a shaky hand to brush a bit of blood off of James' cheek.

"Thank you," Blake finally settled off, her eyes finding James'. Her hand covered over his cheek but she didn't move closer or further from him, suddenly second guessing even following him back up to his office. But that was why she was here so... it would have been silly not to. Right?

@ castle.

James looked down at Blake as she pressed her hand into his face and thanked him. There were things that James wanted to say, but he couldn't in that moment. The elevator ride was too short, and James was still just trying to manage to keep staying upright. Once the elevator stopped, James walked out of it and started to move towards his office. Soon, he was laying back into the couch that was there, letting out a groan as he moved all the way back to relax his muscles.

Following him swiftly was the secretary, who was holding a first aid kit, a bottle of water and some pills in her hands. "Give this to him." The woman said as she handed Blake the water and the medicine. The woman then opened up the kit and started to look through it. "We will have to buy another one of these soon Sir." She said as she pulled out the alcohol wipes. "You and the others always fight so often, I wonder why we don't just have the doctor on staff here." She tsked a little, shaking her head as she started to clean his wounds. There were some that the woman would be able to take care of herself, but others the physician needed to come in for.

"Stacy already has called your doctor. He is on his way. Hopefully, you didn't break any ribs this time but we will find out when he gets here." She said before looking up at Blake. "Girl, go wait by the elevator for the doctor. Make sure he comes straight in."

Blake took the pills from James' secretary, offering them to the man without a second thought. She wanted to do more to comfort James but she knew that it wasn't her place. She was just another slave, just a human that would be replaced in due time... likely soon, with all the trouble that she had been causing James. Keeping her head lowered, Blake stood slightly to the side as his secretary tended to James' wounds. Gripping her hands in front of her, Blake struggled not to intervene. She was sure that the woman was trained in first aid but Blake had been as well, she had practice in the real world from when she had still been on the run.

Biting down on her lip when the woman spoke to her, Blake nodded and all but ran for the elevator. While she wasn't here to listen to James' secretary, she doubted disobeying the woman would do any good and besides, if it was meant to bring the doctor to James faster, there was no harm that could be done.

It wasn't too long that Blake stood by the elevator, turning toward the doctor the moment that the doors opened. "Right this way, please, sir," Blake spoke, her voice barely loud enough to be heard. She turned, leading the way into James' office. Lingering by the door, Blake fought the urge to look up. James was in this state because of her, for no other reason. If she had just let Killenger do as he had wanted... or if she had just kept her mouth shut, maybe this wouldn't be as much of an issue.

@ castle.

The doctor followed close to Blake until they entered James' office. At this point, the doctor pealed away and went straight for the patient. He set his bag down before kneeling down besides James, beginning to ask a few questions. At this point, the secretary motioned over to Blake. "Follow me now. Lets give him some privacy." She turned to head out of the room, but James quickly spoke before Blake was able to move far.

"She stays here with me. I need her to listen to what the doc says." James then motioned for Blake to move close to him, wanting her to sit at the head of the couch. Close to him, but out of the way. The woman glanced over at Blake, a bit surprised before heading out of the room herself and closing the door behind her. If that was what James wanted, then she would not argue with him. '

With that settled, the doctor cleared his throat and once again had James' attention. The man asked about the fight, what had happened, what hurt, if he found anything particularlly difficult. Once done with the main questions, the doctor started to look James over, starting with his head and moving down to his feet. It was clear that some things needed to be done, and before long, the man was beginning to sow up some particularly deep cuts on James.

Blake nodded, turning around to follow after James' secretary when his words stopped her in her tracks. She hesitated, glancing toward him before she turned back around and made her way over to him. Blake bit down on the inside of her lip, lowering herself down on the far end of the couch. her fingers itched to reach out and hold James, to comfort him but she doubted he needed that... and besides, it wasn't hers to give him anyway.

She was quiet as the doctor spoke with James, fiddling with the edge of her skirt. Blake admittedly felt dirty, she could still feel Killenger's hands on her and it hoenstly made her want to throw up. He had made her uncomfortable before but she hadn't thought too much about it because she knew it went hand in hand with the life that she had no choice but to lead.

Remaining still, Blake looked up with a slight frown when James hissed. She could tell he was in pain, it would have been damn near impossible for him not to be. He was being sewn up after a nasty fight with a wolf that matched James' strength. She lifted her hand, hesitating for a moment before she reached out and carefully set her hand on James' forearm. She wanted to attempt to comfort him without getting in the doctor's way and it was the only thing that seemed to come to mind that she could do.

@ castle.

As Blake rested her hand on his arm, James had the suddenly, overwhelming need, to have Blake close to him. He had wanted her to stay in the room, but now he wanted her with him, in his arms. James wanted to play with her hair and feel her skin pressed against his. Though, these were not things that he could have while the doctor was trying to fix him up. So, he would have to settle for the next bet thing.

Slowly, James moved his arm so Blake's hand was sliding down his skin. And, soon enough, their fingers were touching. He moved his hand over to her a bit and wrapped his fingers up into Blake's, holding her hand. His grip was gentle, for the most part. Though it grew a little tight when the doctor was doing something particularly painful. But, he tried to stay mindful of Blake's hand.

It took a while until James' evulation was completed. Nothing was broken, but his knee and ankle were sprained. He would need to be careful of moving and walking for the next couple of days as they attempted to heal up. There were also a few stitches in him, but besies that, James had managed to make it out relavtively unscathed. A fight like that could have easily turned out a lot worse for him. And soon, after giving James some instructions, the doctor was gone.

Blake seemed to realize what James was wanting when her hand hit his wrist . She was quick to move her hand to lace her fingers in his, biting down on the inside of her lip, She watched their hands, her breathe catching in the back of her throat each time his hand tightened around hers. She knew that it was because James was in pain and the only thing running through her mind was that it was because she had messed up yet again. James hadn't given her instruction on what to do if Killenger tried something so she had simply done what she had thought was right. Or it was more like she had panicked and that panic coupled with knowing James didn't want anyone else touching her had caused her to lash out.

She waited for a few moments after the doctor left the office before she turned her attention to James, a small frown growing on her features. "We should get you home, sir," she murmured, reaching out to carefully run her fingers through his hair. Blake was careful as she inched closer to him, unable to fight the desire to be closer to him.

"I'm sorry you're hurt," Blake admitted in a small voice. She looked up to him, wishing she could say everything that was coming to mind at the moment but she didn't think it was appropriate so instead, she waited to see what James wanted out to her. What she wanted was one thing because ultimately, it was James who was in charge here. He had proven that much when he defeated Killenger.

@ castle.

Once the doctor was out of the room, James finally felt like he was free to do what he had wanted from the beginning of all of this. Slowly, he pushed himself up until he was in a sitting position. He then leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Blake, pulling her into a hug as he pressed his head against hers. This was what he wanted, her. He stayed like that for a couple of moments, his fingers running through her hair gently as he held onto her a little tighter. James' nose pressed into her, taking in a deep breath of her scent before letting out a breath of air.

"Are you okay?" James eventually whispered to her. After a moment, he hestiantly pulled away and started to look Blake over. She did not seemed to be physically injured at all. At least that was good. Though just because he could not see the pain, did not mean that it was not there. His hands moved up to her face, cupping it gently as he looked into her eyes. "Did he do anything to you? Are you hurt at all?

There was deep worry in his eyes as he waited for Blake to answer. That was all he really cared about in that moment, whether or not Blake was okay. After all, that was why he had fought Killenger, because he had threatened something that he was beginning to care quite a bit about. For some reason, Blake was important to him...And he felt like he had let her down. Killenger was why he had been worried about today.

Blake hadn't been expecting the swell of emotion that welled in her throat when James pulled her into his lap. She clamped her eyes shut as her bottom lip began to wobble. She didn't want to cry in front of James because she was sure that that was the last thing that James needed at the moment. And besides, she was the one that had caused this situation to begin with. If she had just let this be, if she had let Killenger do as he wanted, James wouldn't be hurt. James wouldn't have fought with Killenger and then James wouldn't have been seemingly sad.

He would have likely been angry with her for having let Killenger but then she would have been the one to suffer, not James. Hanging her head, Blake reached up to wipe away her tears as she gave a small nod of her head. She refused to look at James, sure that if she did, she would have no chance at controlling her emotions. Even less than she already did at the moment.

Swallowing around thel ump that had formed in her throat, Blake nursed her bottom lip to stop it from shaking as she looked up to James. The moment her eyes met his and she saw the worry there, Blake couldn't help but let out a small sob before she leaned forward and buried her face into his chest. "'m fine," she whispered, carefully wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry. I.. I s-should have.. I just should have let him," she mumbled against his skin, her shoulders shaking as she openly cried.

"I s-stopped him. A-And I s-s-shouldn't have," Blake whispered, hiccuping as she pulled her arms to her chest as if it would protect her. "Then y-you'd be fine.."

@ castle.

James slowly, gently wrapped his arms around the girl, pulling her into his body. He closed his eyes, laying his head on top of hers as Blake just cried into his chest. Though, James did not mind much. If she needed to let it all out, that was okay with him. He was just glad that the woman was okay, that nothing had happened to her, that he was able to hold her in his arms. For now, all of that was enough for him.

"No." James whispered to her. "If you would have let him, then I would have had to kill him. And I would be much worse off than I am now. You did the right thing by stopping Killenger. You did not do anything wrong." He gently moved his hands down to her face, pulling away from Blake as he looked deep into her eyes. His thumbs moved over her cheeks, rubbing the tears from her eyes, wanting to be able to calm her down. "You did nothing wrong, okay? None of this was your fault."

Without waiting for Blake to say anything or agree, he gently pulled her back into his chest. James was trying to be aware of his injuries, trying to ensure that he did not hurt himself too much. Though, that was quickly being thrown to the wayside as he tried to calm Blake down. She was more important to him than anything else. After a few more moments of trying to calm Blake, he started to speak again. "You just need to stop crying for a little bit, okay? We just need to make it through the building and into the car. Can you do that?"

Blake blinked as surprise washed over her. She had expected James to chastise her for what she had done, or at the very least, not been impressed with her so when he praised her, Blake wasn't sure how to respond to it. She nodded, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth as she listened to James speak. The more she did, the more relaxed she became. She sighed softly as she looked up to him, pressing her cheek into his hand. She reached up a shaking hand, cupping his hand with her own. It was a bit of a relief, to know that she had done right by James. That trusting her instinct had been the right thing to do.

She had already begun to calm down by the time James mentioned heading downstairs and she couldn't help the giggle that passed through her lips. "Sir, I don't mean any offense but I think that we should be a bit more concerned about you getting downstairs than anything else," she murmured, looking up to him as a blush developed on her cheeks. She gave a tiny, hesitant grin as she moved to standing. Blake was still a bit shaky but she reached up, wiping her tears away on the back of her head.

"Let's go. We need to get oyu home so you can rest," Blake pointed out quietly, offering her hand out to help James up.

@ castle.

James smiled gently as Blake seemed to pop right up. It did not seem difficult to get some pep back into Blake' step, and he was thankful for that. Reaching out, James took Blake's hand and used her help to get onto his two feet. A loud groan came out from him as he finally made it. At times like these, James really wished he had someone who could just carry him around. Though, even if he did, it was doubtful that James would use it. He needed to appear strong even when he felt ready to collapse.

"Alright, let us go." James said through tight teeth, pain seeping through. Most of his body weight leaned against Blake, counting on her to keep him up since he could barely manage himself. Slowly, he headed out onto the elevator, giving the secratary a small nod as he did so. Once inside, he leaned some of his bodyweight against the wall, not wanting to accidently make Blake crash to the ground.

When the elevator opened again, James forced himself up into a more proper position and slowly made his way out of the building, trying to look strong. Though, unsurprisingly, a lot of the employees were already whispering about what had happened.

Blake wrapped her arm around James' waist, doing her best to support his weight as they moved toward the elevator. She braced herself with each step that he took, not wanting to disappoint him and end up falling. That would mean James fell and undoubtedly, he would probably get even more hurt than he already was because of her. She didn't want anything else bad to happen. She wasn't so sure that she could handle it, if it did. She wasn't sure why she was so truly devoted to James and his well being but she was and it was probably good to begin with, that way she would always serve him in the best way possible.

She stayed close by James in the elevator, not wanting him to collapse even if he was leaning against the wall. Blake was quiet as hte doors opened, quick to follow after him. She didn't wrap her arm around him this time but moved in pace, in case she needed to reach out and catch him... well, try to catch him anyway.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Blake's shoulders sagged as she slid into the limo after James. "After we arrive home, would you like me to run you a bath?" Blake asked softly, looking over to him. "It will help your muscles relax."

@ castle.

Once they were finally in the limo, James fell back and let out a loud sigh of release. He was extremely grateful that he had made it from the office to the car. As his body started to relax, he groaned as some of his muscles and injuries moved in a way that was not neccesaily pleasant. But once he was spread out and untense, things felt a little better. It would probably be best if he did not move much when he got home, or at all really. But still, James needed to worry about the journey from his car into his own private living areas.

"Yes, If you think that will help, lets do it." James told her as he started to close his eyes. After the events of today, he was rather exhausted. James wanted to relax, wanted to calm his muscles. Though, he wanted more than that. James wanted to pass out so he wouldn't have to feel any of the pain that he was in. It was difficult to do in the car with all of the jumping and moving around it did not the road. Especially the potholes were bad.

"Come here." James mumbled, motioning her slightly with his fingers. "I want you next to me." He whispered to her, gently taking Blake's hand as he did so. Now it was up to her to come closer.

Blake knew that it wasn't her place to ask things of others but after the third time of seeing James wince when they drove over a pothole, she decided that she had to. It was for James' wellbeing. Nothing else. She bit down on her bottom lip, lowering the partition that separated them from the driver enough so that she could speak to the man. "Drive careful. Sir is injured, the potholes are not helping," she said, pulling back and pushing the button to raise the partition again before the man could say anything back to her.

Just as she had settled back in her seat, James was reaching out to her. Blake turned, her attention immediately turned toward him. She nodded, carefully moving beside James. She leaned her head against his shoulder, careful not to poke him in any of his injuries. Teasing her fingers up and down his arm, Blake let out a small sigh.

"Will you want food as well? I can get some brought up to your room, if you desire," Blake murmured. While they had eaten right before the meeting, the meeting had dragged on and then with the fight, it was nearing dinner time. "Whatever you would prefer," she commented, wanting James to know that she was here for him. That she would do whatever he needed to start feeling better.

@ castle.

Once Blake was leaning into him, James felt like he could relax again. Blake had been the last thing he really needed during this car ride. As she spoke, James listened. Though it took him a while to actually respond to her. "Yes, dinner would be good. Something that is easy to eat though. Maybe Soup would be best" He was a little disappointed since that meant no meat, but it was probably for the best considering his injuries. And how exhausted he was already.

After that, James closed his eyes again and relaxed for the rest of the car ride. Now that the driver wasn't going over any potholes, it was a little better. Though, not by much. He still groaned a little at certain bumps but for the most part was quiet.

When they arrived at the house, James opened his eyes and slowly made it out of the car, with Blake's help. As they started towards the door, once again he leaned against her, using Blake as a crunch. Once inside, James' servants moved forward and helped the man to his bedroom, asking what they should do - if anything. The slaves, on the other hand, moved out of the way as fast as possible, making sure not to make eye contact.

Blake was admittedly a bit relieved when James leaned against her as they headed into his home. It meant that James no longer felt the need to appear better than he really was. The little while their trip home had taken was all that Blake needed to be able to tell that he was no where near okay. He would need a few days to rest, at least. She bit back a smile, knowing full well that display was less than appropriate at the moment.

Looking up as they entered the home, Blake's eyes landed on one of the first servants who stepped forward. "Bring dinner up to sir's room. Some kind of meat soup, nothing too big to eat," Blake gave the instructions in a careful voice, not wanting James to have to give orders or for the servants to think she was trying to assert herself against them. She just knew what James wanted and she wanted to be able to provide that for him.

Once they were finally in James' room, Blake helped him over to the toilet in the bathroom. She moved over to the tub and turned it on, quick to start helping James undress once the water was running. "Do you want anything in the water? Lavender will help your muscles relax but it might be uncomfortable against any wounds," Blake explained quietly, wanting to give him the choice. She frowned slightly, looking down at him as she stood in front of him.

@ castle.

James leaned back against the toilet, a grimace moving over his face as he did so. It was not the most comfortable place to sit and relax, but it was going to have to do for now. His hands balled up into fists as he tried to find a position that was a little easier on his wounds and on his aching muscles. Though, when Blake asked her question, he found it a little difficult to concentrate - or even care - on what she was saying.

"Do whatever you think is best." He said, a little growl coming out as he spoke. It was not that he was mad at Blake. The issue being that the pain was making it difficult for James to speak normally or even nicely to her. His nails started to dig into his skin as he waited for Blake to finish up the bath.

Once the woman gave him the go ahead, James was quick, or rather as quick as he could be, to take off his clothes and move into the tub. Once he moved into the water, a sigh of relief came from his lips. The water immediately took away a lot of the heaviness that he had been feeling. He was floating gently in the water, it craddled his injuries perfectly and James finally felt like he was finally something close to comfortable.

Blake couldn't help the way her shoulders tensed when James growled at her but she tried to understand that it was likely not actually directed to her. If he was angry with her, he would have expressed that before now. He wouldn't have pulled her to him in the car, wouldn't have wanted her so close to him. Blake turned to the vanity, kneeling down long enough to shift through the stuff beneath the sink. Blake pulled out a bottle of lavender beads. She mixed a few handfuls in, imagining that since James was a wolf, that it would take more to have the desired affect on him.

Once James was in the bath, Blake knelt beside him with a heavy frown. She seemed hesitant to disturb James, he was so peaceful in the moment but she was sure he would feel even better once he was cleaned up. "I'm going to help clean you up. If you want me to stop, just say so. Okay?" Blake's voice was soft, tentative as she dipped a washcloth beneath the water. Slowly, Blake began to wash the blood from James'. face before moving down to his neck and chest.

Blake was quiet as she moved, her other hand resting on James' wrist. She was trying to comfort him as much as she could because she could tell that despite how strong James was trying to be, that he was in a lot of discomfort and she knew it was because he was defending her. In essence, it was her fault and she was supposed to do everything that she could to make it easier for him.

@ castle.

At first, James was quiet as he watched Blake clean him off. It was actually nice having the girl around to take care of him. Now he didn't have to attempt to get the blood off without getting too hurt himself. Which would have been a painful process, or in reality, something James would have given up on quite quickly. Though as Blake started to move down his chest, where he was bruising up pretty badly, the man immediately tensed up and growl.

"Stop." He demanded immediately. Though, when Blake did not stop as fast as he had wanted, James moved away from, only causing himself more pain and yelping out due to it. "Clothes now!" James demanded, already getting frustated with his current state of being. James hated being weak. He hated relying on those around him. He was the alpha. HE needed to be the strong one.

It seemed the only solution now was to take his medicine and drink until he passed out hard in his bed. Now he just needed to get out of this damn tub. With that, James started to struggle as he tried to get out of the water, feeling his body growing heavy again as he did so.